Michael Wilkey: Remembering Larry Fugate, Charles Nix

Editor’s note: Michael Wilkey is Talk Business & Politics’ Northeast Arkansas correspondent. He can be reached by email at [email protected].

Two men, with over 80 years of journalistic experience, died last week leaving a lasting impact on their profession and the people they knew.

Former Jonesboro Sun managing editor Larry Fugate died Thursday, while former Poinsett County Judge Charles Nix died Saturday.

Fugate had an over half-century career in journalism and worked on issues related to the state’s Freedom of Information Act.

Nix also served as the publisher for the Modern News in Harrisburg, one of the oldest newspapers in the state, for many years.

I had the opportunity to work with Fugate at the Sun and indirectly with Nix, when I started my first job in the profession as a reporter for a weekly newspaper in Marked Tree.

LARRY FUGATE
It has been said by some in the past few days that Fugate was a “crusty, old school” editor. He definitely was.

However, he was somebody who cared about his profession and the people he worked with.

Most people in journalism in this state have a Larry Fugate story.

Here’s mine.

When my mother passed away in 2005, I called Larry at home that morning to let him know I would not be at work that day or possibly for the week.

After telling me he was sorry for my loss, he asked me what stories I had for that day and the remainder of the week.

I had forgotten that I had brought a camera home the night before to cover a story early that next morning.

I took the camera back to the office later that morning and walked into Larry’s office. He was at his desk, filling out the paperwork, in order for me to get paid for the week.

Journalistically, Larry demanded and expected a lot from his reporters.

He wanted his reporters to dig for the facts, build sources and know what was going on in their beat. He was also not afraid of doing hard hitting stories.

The paper finished second in the running for the Pulitzer Prize in 1999 for its coverage of the Westside School shooting, during one of the toughest times in the history of Jonesboro and Northeast Arkansas.

Fugate, who was a former police reporter himself, shepherded the paper’s coverage with several other editors and reporters to cover the shooting and its aftermath.

CHARLES NIX
I had the opportunity to know and later cover Nix, when he was county judge and served as president of the Harrisburg School Board.

Charles was a bridge builder, both literally (as a county judge) and figuratively in his work.

He liked to bring both sides in a contentious issue together, talk it over and build a solution – something he had learned as a newspaper editor.

When he became county judge, those skills came in handy.

In his three terms in office, he dealt with the aftermath of budget issues, floods, tornadoes and an ice storm in 2014 that caused the county’s shop to collapse.

In addition to serving as county judge and on the school board, he served one term as mayor in Harrisburg and six years with the Arkansas National Guard.

Nix kept many of the items from his time in the military in his office at the Poinsett County Courthouse until early this year, when he left office after not seeking another term.

He also worked on economic development and workforce training issues.

When some folks said there was no way it would happen due to territorial battles or county politics, Nix worked with officials at the Arkansas State University Delta Center for Economic Development to build a plan for the future.

The plan showed policy makers the strengths and weaknesses in the county as well as the county’s economic role in a region, located halfway between Jonesboro and Memphis.

There was one thing that both men had in common – they both enjoyed their job.

And journalism in this state is a lot better because of them.